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Formula for one night?

I am going away overnight Friday (baby can't come). My mum is baby sitting. I am struggling to get enough milk when I pump and I'm running out of time. Will formula be ok for one night? Perhaps mixed with the breast milk I can pump?
I feel so guilty above giving formula though :-( But obviously I don't want him to starve. Will it cause any digestion problems or make him ill?

Re: Formula for one night?

If I were in your position, I would definitely use formula for one night, after the breast milk had been used up. There should be no guilt here, baby needs food, the most important thing is that he is not hungry! Don't beat yourself up!!

Re: Formula for one night?

Is there any way that baby can come with you?

If you're going to use formula, you need to know that your baby will actually take it. Some babies won't. So pick a time and have someone try giving her a small amount- 0.5-1 oz should be sufficient. You just want to make sure she'll eat it.

You do not want to mix breastmilk and formula unless your baby will not take formula any other way. The storage guidelines for breastmi and formula are too different; unused breastmilk can be saved for another feeding, unused formula needs to go down the drain. You don't want baby to eat half a mixed bottle and then have to discard some fraction of breastmilk. So give the breastmilk bottle first, and top baby off with the formula. That way, if baby doesn't finish the second bottle, it's only formula that goes down the sink.

Formula is unlikely take your baby ill unless he has some sort of allergy to the components. But it can cause trouble with digestion, particularly constipation, so don't be too surprised if your baby has a harder time pooping after eating a lot of formula.

Re: Formula for one night?

Re: Formula for one night?

How old is the baby? The general guideline for breastmilk is that babies take an average of 1 to 1.5 ounces per hour apart, but formula amount increases with age. But if you're just away for a night (overnight?) you may still have time to get enough pumped milk saved by Friday. What's going on with the pumping that's making it a struggle? Maybe we can help.